A visit to a museum or art gallery exhibit - Essay Example

A Visit to an Art or Gallery Exhibition The museum gallery exhibition I attended was at the San Antonio Museum of Art. While I attended the museum on June 24th, I recognize that there were many exhibits featured that didn’t directly relate to the museum’s current exhibition. One of the first artifacts I witnessed were a collection of Greek vases. The Greek vases were divided by the era that they were produced. In examining the vases I recognized strikingly different depictions. On the early period vases there was great depiction of wavy lines and abstract shapes; however, as time progressed it was clear that the vases contained more elaborate depictions of mythological and historical Greek figures.

Within these periods there was further designation based on the regions of their creation. Ultimately, the vases acted as a powerful example of artistry and ancient Greek history. Another thing I witnessed at the gallery exhibition was Marcia Gygli King’s "Cantilever, 1980". This exhibit was a mixed-media work. The work itself is part painting and part sculpture. In terms of art history this work is notable as it is demonstrative of a period of expression where artists began to experiment with the deconstruction of categories and produce hybrid works.

Another prominent work I witnessed was Richard Dieben Korn’s "Ocean Park". This painting was a large landscape type work, except it was composed of figurative and abstract forms. While one thinks of abstract expressionism in terms of the messy Jackson Pollack type work, “Ocean Park” is a much more orderly work. In these respects one notes that the work is almost a hybrid of such artists that make great use of blocks of color, along with the abstract expressionist creation of emotion through figurative means of expression.

The work is ultimately highly notable within art history as a unique piece of mid-20th century work. Another such abstract expressionist work I viewed at the museum was Helen Frankenthaler’s "Eden Revisited". While “Ocean Park” exhibited muted tones, this work demonstrated extremely bright elements of yellow that made the work one of the most exciting in the museum to view. When one considers this work in relation to “Ocean Park” one recognizes the broader humanities concerns as they relate to the nature of abstract expressionism as a style concerned just as much with form as with the outward expression of powerful emotional states.

Other works I witnessed were Ronald Davis’ "Inside Light" and "Crossover Lift". Davis is a unique artist as his form of expression takes on novel forms of sculpture and building creation. For instance, “Inside Light” featured a eight foot circular ring with vibrant colors adorning the inside and outside. Within the circular frame light was painted onto the actual construction. “Crossover Lift” was a painting that seemingly combined cubist forms of expression with vibrant colors that one considers similar to the abstract expressionist works.

Viewing Davis’ works deepened my understanding of art history through understanding its juxtaposition with the more abstract works. Ultimately, the visit to this gallery revealed a broad array of artistic and cultural forms of expression.